Marta Kostyuk continued her winning run at the US Open with another straight-set victory. She defeated Sloane Stephens 6-1, 7-5 to reach the third round of the Grand Slam for the fourth time. After the match, Kostyuk shared an interesting fact and harked back to 2017, the year Stephens clinched the title at Flushing Meadows. Turns out Kostyuk won the girls’ doubles title at the Grand Slam in the same year, and the two even took a picture together.

“I was a little nervous. I kind of knew what to expect, but I knew she was gonna try to change something,” she said during her on-court interview at the US Open. “At the same time, I knew how she was playing, and I beat her. But yeah, it’s a different tournament; it’s a Grand Slam. She won here, and fun fact, I remember when I was a junior here, I won the doubles title. And on the same day, Sloane won the title, so I have a picture with her in the players’ lounge. So, maybe I’m gonna post it today just to honor this match.”

This was the second time in a little over two weeks that Kostyuk got the better of Stephens. The two previously clashed at the Cincinnati Masters, and the Ukrainian triumphed 7-5, 7-5. Interestingly, these are the only two matches that they have played on the Tour so far. Kostyuk now holds a 2-0 lead in the H2H record.

Currently ranked No. 11, Kostyuk has already had a superb season. She has racked up 34 victories on the Tour so far, tasting defeat on just eight occasions. The 24-year-old has also won two titles, including the Masters event in Madrid. Looking at her current form, Kostyuk is likely to surpass her best result at the US Open, which is qualifying for the Round of 16. She reached the stage last year.

Kostyuk’s form got elevated to another level during the clay swing. The Ukrainian made a thumping start to the new season after suffering second-round exits at both the Indian Wells and Miami Open.

She first went on to clinch the title at the Rouen Open. This was followed by a triumph in Madrid, where she defeated players like Jessica Pegula, Linda Noskova and Mirra Andreeva on her way to the title.

But Kostyuk believes that the tournament where she performed at her best is the French Open instead. While the 24-year-old didn’t win the title, she did rack up multiple victories over top-10 players. These results gave her even more confidence, and she went on to reach the maiden Grand Slam semifinal of her career.

Marta Kostyuk opens up on “crazy” French Open campaign

Kostyuk reflected on her Roland Garros journey, which had both highs and lows. Notably, she was close to getting eliminated in the second round against Katie Volynets, but eventually scraped a 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 victory.

Kostyuk then defeated four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek in the fourth round. The next result was also terrific as she defeated her compatriot Elina Svitolina 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 to book a spot in the semis.

“It was a great tournament,” she told rolandgarros.com at the US Open. “I had played so many matches. I was going into these matches really having no idea how this match was going to end, and I almost lost in the second round (she beat Katie Volynets in three sets). It was tight, very close.”

“Then I beat Iga (Swiatek), beat Elina (Svitolina), crazy matches. It was a big step forward for me. But I felt like it wasn’t really forced or anything. I just felt like the time had come, probably. It was a big breakthrough for me, even more than Madrid.”

But the eventual champion Mirra Andreeva proved to be a step too far for Kostyuk as she was handed a one-sided 6-1, 6-3 defeat. Though she failed to clinch the title, this tournament was a major confidence booster for Kostyuk, and her results proved this.

The 24-year-old then went on to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon. It was another solid run, which included wins over Emma Navarro and Jasmine Paolini. She was once again defeated by the eventual champion, who in this case was Linda Noskova.

Kostyuk’s US swing has been decent so far, reaching the Round of 16 at the National Bank Open and the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Masters. It remains to be seen if she will get another positive result at the US Open.